Playing Mass Effect spiritual successor Exodus was the best kind of surprise
Developing story first seen 4 hours ago
Eurogamer's hands-on Gamescom preview of Exodus, Archetype Entertainment's sci-fi RPG, remains positive, with the outlet reiterating that its 45-minute session left them more impressed than expected given limited prior interest in spiritual predecessor Mass Effect. The demo followed protagonist Jun Aslan and a party of companions infiltrating the orbital defence platform Khonsu in the year 42530, a Death Star-inspired raid designed to "surprise players" with striking zero-gravity visuals and a distinctive mineral-based station aesthetic built from a lore substance called livestone.
The article adds detail on gameplay mechanics beyond the previous coverage: Jun can manipulate livestone to summon platforms and walkways, and uses a "precognition" ability to reveal hidden rooms, weak walls or weapon mods for light exploration. Set 40,000 years in the future, the game follows Jun's mission to save his home planet Lidon from a Celestial techno-virus, aided by companions including pilot Kara Voss, operative Suliman Tenjin, weapons expert Elise Charroux and "Awakened" animal allies; the demo also featured dialogue-driven choices with an imprisoned character named 42C/Kay.
- Exodus demo reveals livestone-manipulation and "precognition" exploration mechanics
- Death Star-style raid on platform Khonsu impressed Eurogamer at Gamescom
- Mass Effect successor from Archetype Entertainment set 40,000 years in future
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Set roughly 40,000 years in the future, Exodus is a science-fiction role-playing game from Archetype Entertainment, a studio founded by former BioWare developers who worked on the Mass Effect series. Although not an official part of that franchise, it is being made by some of the same people and shares a similar style of space exploration, party-based combat and story-driven choices, which is why it is being described as a spiritual successor.
The game follows a character called Jun Aslan, who is trying to save his home planet, Lidon, from a destructive force known as a Celestial techno-virus. He is joined by a crew of companions with different skills, including a pilot, an operative and a weapons expert, as well as unusual animal allies. Players explore environments and make choices that shape the story as it unfolds.
The report in question comes from Eurogamer, a games journalism outlet, describing impressions from playing a preview version of Exodus at Gamescom, a major video games trade fair held annually in Germany. Such early hands-on previews are common in the games industry and offer one of the first independent looks at a title before its full release, though they reflect only a short section of the game rather than the finished product.
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